Gay-pride revelers cheer right to wed

Monday

Jun 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 30, 2008 at 9:46 AM

SAN FRANCISCO -- A lesbian motorcycle group dressed in wedding gowns and wearing bridal veils lent a matrimonial touch to San Francisco's gay-pride parade yesterday as revelers celebrated their newfound freedom to marry.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A lesbian motorcycle group dressed in wedding gowns and wearing bridal veils lent a matrimonial touch to San Francisco's gay-pride parade yesterday as revelers celebrated their newfound freedom to marry.

The riders tossed bouquets as they led the city's 38th annual gay-pride parade down Market Street.

Huge crowds lined the route as city tourism officials predicted the largest turnout yet for the parade, which typically draws tens of thousands.

The county clerk's office was busy Friday handing out marriage licenses and handling wedding ceremonies. Same-sex marriage has been legal in California since June 16, after a state Supreme Court decision.

Though City Hall was closed yesterday, parade organizers put up a wedding pavilion across the street to offer information about tying the knot and to celebrate newly sanctioned unions.

In a taped interview yesterday morning on NBC's Meet the Press, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a ballot measure that would once again ban gay marriage in the state "a waste of time."

"I personally believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman," Schwarzenegger said. "But at the same time I think that my, you know, belief, I don't want to force on anyone else."

In New York City, Gov. David Paterson was cheered during its gay-pride parade, one month after he directed state agencies to provide full marriage benefits to same-sex couples who were legally married elsewhere.

In Paris, more than a half-million people danced through the streets beneath rainbow flags.

In India, hundreds chanted for gay rights in Calcutta, Bangalore and New Delhi in the largest display of gay pride in the deeply conservative country, where homosexual acts are illegal. This week, the Delhi High Court is expected to hear arguments on overturning a law against homosexual sex that dates to the British colonial era.